Kenya

Women

Kenya ranks 126 out of 162 countries in the Gender Inequality Index, where a high rank equals high equality. Women should always be considered as a particularly vulnerable group though.

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Children

Kenya has a Workplace Index score of 5.6, a Marketplace Index score of 4.7 and a Community and Environment Index score of 5.2 in the Children’s Rights and Business Atlas, where countries receive scores between 0 and 10. A score closer to 0 reflects a need for basic children’s rights due diligence, while a higher score reflects a need for enhanced or heightened due diligence. Children should always be considered as a particularly vulnerable group though. 

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Persons with Disabilities

Due to differences in data collection and definitions it is difficult to compare countries on disability prevalence rates. Persons with disabilities should always be considered as a particularly vulnerable group though.

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Minorities and Indigenous Peoples

According to the World Directory of Minorities and Indigenous Peoples, Kenya is a country of great ethnic, linguistic, cultural and religious diversity. Ethnic/national minorities, such as the Nubians and Somalis, are not recognized as such by the Kenyan government and have problems accessing citizenship documents. In recent years political conflict on ethnic lines has increased dramatically, exacerbated by the combination of divisive politicians and economic decline. Nevertheless, ethnic categorizations are complex and sometimes overlapping. Some of the main communities are Kalenjin (a collective term encompassing diverse indigenous peoples including the Kipsigis, Endorois, Tugen, Pokot and Sabaot), Kikuyu, Luo, Kamba, Kisii, Meru, Maasai, Asians, Europeans and Arabs, Somalis, Kuria, Taita, Samburu, Abasuba, Ogiek, Taveta, Wlilwana, Nubi, Aweer (Boni) and Dahalo. No ethnic grouping is numerically dominant, and while a few groups have had opportunities at political power with its associated economic benefits, the Kikuyu, who make up 22 % of the population, have tended to dominate politics in the post-independence era. Some groups have never held political power. Competition for power and exclusion from it on an ethnic basis has been a major source of tension. Particularly vulnerable minorities include Muslims and nomadic pastoralists such as Somalis and Maasai. Linguistic minorities such as the Terik, Sengwer and Suba are challenged by the near-extinction of their languages. Agriculturalists and pastoralists often have competing claims to land, and nomadic pastoralists are in ceaseless conflict with the authorities, most of whom come from farming tribes. Although the relationship has generally been one of tolerance, divisions between Christians and Muslims are of growing significance. Hunter-gatherer communities, including the Ogiek, Sengwer and Yaaku, have long faced marginalisation and exclusion, including dispossession of land and forced evictions. The Aweer (Dahalo), a traditional hunter-gatherer community living in the Lamu district of eastern Kenya, face insecurity, the threat of famine and loss of livelihood as a result of the government’s ban in the name of conservation. Most men have left in search of work.

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Migrant Workers​

According to the ILO Global Estimates on International Migrant Workers, migrant workers as a proportion of all workers is 3 % in the subregion Sub-Saharan Africa.

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Persons in Armed Conflict

Kenya ranks 32 out of 179 countries in the Fragile States Index, where a high rank equals high fragility. For monthly crisis updates, check out CrisisWatch.